Chattin' with Jason

In case you haven’t heard, Jason Repko will take part in a live chat today at 2 p.m. PT. It should last about half an hour. It’s the sixth of a series we’re doing, with all the upcoming ones listed here. Kim Ng is next on May 9. Pretty much, we’ll do one every other Tuesday at 2 p.m., rotating between an executive and a player.

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Give me a break. You people are so fickle. Izturis is not that great. Last year he hit .257 in 444 AB. That stinks. In 2003 he hit .251 in 558 AB. That stinks. In 2002 Izturis hit .232 in 439 AB. That stinks. What do you think is sooo great abot Cesar. He had one good year and all of a sudden you think he is the best SS in the NL. Furcal has a career batting average of .283. So Frucal’s career avg. is about the same as Izturis had in his best year (.288 i 2004) So who is better. Hands down its Furcal. What about Jimmy Rollins, Edgar Renteria, Omar Vizquel, David Eckstein, and Jose Reyes. I’d take Clint Barmes and Khalil Green over Izturis. The only way you can say “Hail Cesar” is if you know nothing about baseball. And let’s look at Hee Seop Choi’s numbers a minute. Last year he hit .250 with 15 HRs in 320 AB. He has a career .240 avg. Maybe the Dodgers problem is that they have stupid fans that fall in love with no talent players. Last year Robles hit .272 with 31 walks and only 33 strikeouts. He is not a good player, but those numbers were better than Izturis. You people are pathetic to whine about Choi and Izturis sooo much.

First of all, I’m looking forward to the Jason Repko chat today. He’s clearly developing into a great all-around player. Given more chances to play everyday, I am confident he’ll break out and be a fan favorite.

Now, there is one thing I must address:

“The only way you can say “Hail Cesar” is if you know nothing about baseball.”

Really now?

If you want to run numbers, Izturis has a lifetime .980 fielding percentage at shortstop, 48 errors in 4713 innings. Furcal’s fielding percentage is .965, 131 errors in 6638 innings. Do the math, and you figure that Izturis makes an error once every 98 innings, and Furcal once every 51 innings.

If you watched the first game, or even read the article or box score, you know just how important good defense is. Had Jeff Kent not booted the ball, there would have been a double play, and Laroche would not have had a 3 run homer, and the Dodgers might have won on opening day. Derek Lowe is a groundball pitcher. If the defense behind him is good, he’s golden. When it slips, he’s in trouble.

Here’s some more numbers for you: Furcal has a career .993 fielding percentage (1 error in 255 innings!) at 2nd while Izturis has a career .988 fielding percentage (2 errors in 309 innings) there. Furcal may just be better on the other side of the infield.

And finally, you have to admit that Cesar Izturis is just plain fun to watch. If you’ve never seen him, his player page at dodgers.com has video clips of him making plays.

I do understand that defense is important, however, if you don’t score runs, you will never win. Furcal also has a better knack for stealing bases. Last year he stole 49 bases. The fewest amount he has ever stole in a full season is 25. 25 happens to be the most Izturis has ever stole. A stolen base to you might not mean much, but Dodger Stadium is not quite a HR hitter’s park. That means you need to manufacture runs. A stolen base is a great way to manufacture runs.

“Izturis is just plain fun to watch”

It’s fun to watch a baby smear his first birthday cake all over the place, but that doesnt win you ballgames. If you want to win, play Furcal. If you want to have cheesy, unoriginal, borderline obnoxious slogans, play Izturis.

If I’ve gotten used to what Grady will do, I would expect that Repko gets another day off today, but will return to the lineup tomorrow, to give Kenny Lofton a day off and also because the Cubs have a left-hander starting. I’ll also guess that Repko bats 7th so he can run instead of running behind the catcher.

Zambrano isn’t as hot as Maddux, so Grady would probably think it better for Loney’s confidence to play him tonight. The question mark is Kent, but provided his eyes feel better, I would expect him to play tonight. Otherwise, Ramon Martinez gets the nod, despite the lefty-righty thing.

So here’s my guess for today and tomorrow:

Furcal – Furcal

Lofton – Cruz

Drew – Drew

Kent – Kent

Cruz – Saenz

Mueller – Mueller

Loney – Repko

Navarro – Alomar

Lowe – Penny

Not that I haven’t been surprised before. And I can’t wait until Nomar’s ready.

Of course we are fickle as suggested by the first post.We are fans. We love the Dodgers. We lead with our hearts. I admit I may be pathetic too. However, a team can never go wrong when it plays with heart and a fan is less disappointed when supporting with heart, not just statistics. That comes from the love of the game. What’s wrong with supporting certain players that seem to match our definition of players? That is, players who are Dodgers. We have no control over who plays or stays.What’s wrong with musing? How many non-Dodgers have come aboard in the past ten years and disappointed, not so much on the field, but with their attitudes, lack of hustle, questionable desire and loyalty, etc.? That is why we are disappointed that Cody Ross had to be let go. He is, we feel, a Dodger. So is Izzy. Oscar Robles story is a good one as he promised his Mom he would play in the majors. He did but she died unable to enjoy it. Come on lighten up. I don’t think this Dodger site is intended to be a site to insult others, fans or management. I think it is to gain first hand information, share interests in the Dodgers, gain insights from others, ask questions, chat. You are certainly insightful with your assessment but relax with the nageative comments. This isn’t politics. It’s so much better. Gotta love the Dodgers even from the far east coast of Canada.

hey euhlman. your right, i shouldnt be insulting people. but i get upset when people criticize management for their decisions constantly. especially when you bring up players like hee seop choi. i understand you want to see hustle, but then you complain when you dont see wins. my first love is the cubs, but i live in jacksonville so i started liking the suns and thats starting to translate to the dodgers, thats why im on this site. but i know what losing looks like and it pisses me off every time i watch a cubs game and the fans boo. i dont like fans booing their own team. and i think the dodgers are building a winner and im sorry if it means izturis loses his starting spot, but nobody knew he would make it back so quick and furcal is better.

I have a question for jason if this is how you ask i’m a fan of Robles but when is Aybar going to get a shot after what he did last year and this year so far he’s got to be frustated I really like how he works the count and he seems to be showing more power this year I know it’s early but he seems like he’s going to be odd man out this year and in the future

Eh punk4. Thanks. Have a friend from Chicago formerly of LA who loves the Cubs. Dr. Robert Wallace who writes the syndicated column for teens. He has a summer home here in Nova Scotia. I too get frustrated when management gets criticized on this site. I feel that they have a plan and at least have to see if it is workable . Would love to see Repko play more but trust that will come in time. Also believe the Izzy thing will work out, probably in a trade. In the meantime as pitching continues to get on track, games will become winnable, like last night. I do think management is on the right track trying to win now and protect the future with the Jacksonville 5.

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